Detroit is where modern gloved boxing was perfected as an art form, developed under a handful of black men nearly 100 years ago. The lead figure was Jack Blackburn, who was a Jack Johnson victim as a fighter, and took the lessons he learned fighting and applied them to training Joe Louis. This was the method of boxing that permitted a highly trained fighter with less athletic ability to destroy a more athletic free form fighter. The kid that was carrying Joe Louis’ bag at the time would go on to be the greatest boxer of the modern era, Ray Robinson. Emanuel Steward and his fighters and trainers at the Kronk gym kept this hard hitting tradition alive. The religion of hard hitting, promoted by a trainer who claimed punching mitts were the bane of 21st Century boxers—as they promote hitting at rather than hitting through—is on brutal display in this classic fight.

Early on Duran has the right idea, going for a jab to the chest and a straight right to the heart under the longer man’s jab. He is bothered by Hearns’ power and makes the mistake of standing too tall.

Notice Hearns late in the first round after Duran is cut. He throws a shovel hook from the hip. Duran moves to his left toward Hearns’ right after that vicious punch and runs into a straight right thrown from the hip. Hearns is keeping continuity and lending all of his weight to punches by having his elbows chambered close above the hips. Of course you need long arms to do this. Also notice how low and coiled Hearns gets. In boxing and stick fighting, the most dangerous tall fighters often abandon height at key moments and use their length, maximizing reach and power and minimizing targets for the opponent.

The men in Hearns’ corner are not the typical entourage of black celebrity fighters, but a tactical team. Duran was pretty much a lone wolf and did not have the benefit of the Kronk Gym’s almost NFL quality coaching program.

In regards to the art of finishing hurt fighters, Hearns gives a clinic at the end of the first round with his sizzling body attack. The importance of level change on the attack was well understood in the Detroit boxing tradition.

Duran’s opening gambit at the start of the second round was a straight right to the hip, which is something he should have been doing earlier, from more of a crouch and with more movement. With such a disparity in reach and height the fighters want to control position and movement, as inside finishes by the short man and outside barrages by the tall man are likely to be hard to retaliate against.

The fight ends with instinct failing against intent. The right hand thrown by Hearns to finish the fight would have dropped almost any heavyweight. Hearns taking it to Duran like this might have seemed risky, but it was the proper course. He could not permit the little badger-like Panamanian to get inside and start dictating the pace, so he met him on the middle ground for a slug out and Duran went for the bait.

Next in the Big versus Small series, I will discuss Hearns and Duran against a common opponent that was bigger than both of them.